June was the first month that I finally felt like our homestead was back in full swing after being away for a couple years. With Juniper clinging in my arms, we would walk the garden to harvest and tend our little slice of heaven. Several delicious veggies filled our plates at mealtime including kale, chard, spinach, lettuces, and piles and piles of artichokes. When Jay

Four years ago I was spending 40+ hours a week at “work” and 40+ hours a week getting my hands dirty somewhere – digging in our garden, helping friends with garden designs, volunteering for the farmers market, etc. It was clear that I needed to make a choice between those two lives. I chose the one with dirt under my nails. I turned in my

A look back at May shows a lot of life and budding fruit on the homestead. This is a photo-heavy post of the spring sights I have been enjoying: flowers, veggies and Baby Junebug! My favorite spring flowering bulbs, Allium giganteum, came out in full force. The purple petals are fading away leaving what looks like a green pincushion behind. They will dry out and

My family has been enjoying the same hike through the Columbia River Gorge, a national scenic area, for decades now. My parents began hiking this easy trail in the early 70’s and continued to use it as the family grew. Years are marked in family photos with each child taking our turn riding in the baby backpack carrier and up through our restless teenage years.

It is a pretty steep learning curve when you become a parent for the first time. After a month and half, I wanted to share some of the lessons I have learned so far.1. Bring new parents food. Our friends organized a meal train. You pick the nights you could use a meal and people sign up online for different nights. Great way for them

We welcomed our baby girl into the world on Leap Day! Her name is Juniper Carol Wilkinson and we call her Junebug as a nickname. She weighs 6 lbs 8 oz and everyone is healthy and recovering well. My labor went as smoothly as we planned. I woke up at about 1:30 am with contractions I couldn’t sleep through. As things progressed, I slept or

It’s hitting me more and more that in a few short weeks there will be a baby living here. The pregnancy has been great, but I almost just expect on some level to stay pregnant forever now. No so… This weekend Jay and I attacked Bug’s room – putting in shelves, unpacking gifts from family and friends, and all around “nesting”. My mother made this

Graduate school gives you a shortage of both time and money. Yet somehow, my classmates in Eugene put together a super-sweet baby shower for us that I just have to share with you. The theme was “Springtime on the Farm” and they came up with the most adorable and creative ways to fill us with love before Bug arrives. Exhibit A: baby chick cupcakes. I

I have a huge project on the horizon that I have been carefully working on all summer. It explains a few odd things, like why the season has flown by for me and why I can easily eat a pint of cherry tomatoes several times a day. I’m growing a baby! This may or may not be a surprise, depending on how much you read

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Hello homesteader! I'm Renee Wilkinson and this is where I've chronicled my adventures in homesteading since 2007. Here you will find 1,000+posts on modern homestead projects, edible landscape design and the occasional life update. Read More…